We flew to Chiang Rai so that we could go on a hilltribe trek. We stayed at the Golden Triangle Inn before and after the trek. We did a two-day, one-night trek with a private guide, organized by Golden Triangle Tours (which is located at the Inn). We first took a boat from Chiang Rai up the Mae Kok River to the Karen village of Ruam Mitr. We then took a 2-hour elephant ride (which was rather painful) from Ruam Mitr to a Yao village where the people were of Chinese descent. We then walked to an Akha village where we had lunch. After lunch we walked to the Lahu village of Jaleh. We had dinner there and and spent the night with a family. On the second day we walked down the mountain to the Houei Mae Sai waterfall and had lunch at a hilltribe cottage on the bank of a mountain stream. In the afternoon we walked to the Thai village of Houi Khom where we boarded a pickup truck that returned us to Chiang Rai. The trek was advertised as being for beginning to intermediate trekkers, but was much more challenging than we expected it to be. We were often walking on trails that were narrow, overgrown with jungle vegetation including thorny bushes, and steep, and we had to climb over lots of rocks and roots. We were amazed by the ability of the elephants and the locals to effortlessly navigate these trails. We were exhausted and extremely sweaty after each day of trekking.
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